Support Hebo Area Conservation and Hatchery Programs

By Nestucca Valley Sporting Goods & Little Nestucca Deli

Our beautiful Hebo (and other areas) steelhead, salmon and trout...

...needs your support for pristine, undisturbed habitat...

Two Big Nestucca River fishermen wth a bright, Winter Steelhead

Anadromous salmon, steelhead, and resident trout encounter siltation, extra-warm water, and more...

Three Rivers

By Nestucca Valley Sporting Goods & Little Nestucca Deli

Three Rivers is a stunning tributary in the Nestucca Basin of Oregon's North Coast that supports Chinook and Coho Salmon, steelhead, Cutthroat Trout and lampreys. The system provides vital fish habitats, including spawning gravels, pools and side channels.

As a small bank fishing stream, Three Rivers must be protected and respected. If you are planning to fish near Hebo, Oregon, please follow these guidelines:

Follow ODFW regulations: Ensure you are compliant with all state rules
Stay out of the water: This is a bank angling stream, if you can see the fish, they can see you
Avoid walking in the water where others are fishing
Leave no trace: Pick up trash, fishing line and bait
Respect private property: Be mindful of land boundaries
Give others space: Do not crowd fellow anglers
Communicate respectfully and be polite to those around you

Bait, Hook, and Fishing Line Tip

How would you like to eat something...

Only to find out later that a fishing hook was buried in it, attached to a few feet of fishing line?

I've seen too many seagulls suffering while I am trying to help them.

Don't throw it away... carry it out with you. Thanks!

Our Local Hebo Area Conservation and Hatchery Programs Need Your Help

Our Oregon salmon, steelhead and trout populations are declining. Everyone knows this.

I fly fish for big trout on a pristine river in Eastern Oregon. The big (and little) wild trout populations are thriving at an alarming rate. Why? The Game Comission is not stocking these fish but...

...the habitat is not ruined by the human race. It's pristine and flourishing.

That's not the case over here in Hebo on the Oregon Coast.

Dairy Farmers along the Little Nestucca Tidewater are finally planting trees up and down the river. My hat is off to them... this is where it all starts!

Here's What You Can Do:

Support Your Hebo Area Hatchery and Conservation Programs by Getting Involved

First... here's what we're up against:

Pollution: As the human population grows, along comes more development. Human waste, pesticides (weed killers,etc.), urban and agricultural run-off (pesticides, drugs excreted from cattle/manure), and so much more. I'm not trying to single out certain entities. This pollutes our lakes, oceans, and steelhead, trout, and salmon rivers.
Fishing pressure: There's a lot of fishing pressure along our river banks with better fisherman than years ago due to information availability and technology. The salmon and steelhead fishing equipment I used in the 60's, 70's and 80's was ancient. It's much easier to catch fish now.

Foreign gillnets: I saw lots of gill net scars on fish (back in the 60's and 70's), but hatchery stocks overcame this loss of salmon and steelhead that didn't escape the foreign gill nets.

Seals: Seals have always been around back in the day, and there were still plenty of fish. However, they are now protected which has increased seal populations. Man-made barriers congregate migratory fish unnaturally, making salmon and steelhead an easy prey for seals.
Insufficient hatchery fish planting programs: Cedar Creek Hatchery on Three Rivers near Hebo planted 450,000+ Winter Steelhead smolts every year. There were only 3-4 employees and 3 crude salmon and steelhead fish rearing ponds! I personally know one of those employees. Unfortunately... salmon and steelhead fish hatcheries have been key to successful fish populations, but face criticism for genetic/ecological effects on wild fish today.

We need to get back to the private hatch boxes/programs. Private (we called them “hatch boxes”) STEP (Salmon Trout Enhancement Program) programs existed and supplemented, but unfortunately, many were phased out or regulated... due to wild fish priorities and disease risks (?)

In the 60' and 70's... The local Pacific City commercial dory fishermen used their own hatch boxes to enhance the Big Nestucca and Little Nestucca Fall Chinook Salmon runs. These rivers were loaded with fish! The hatch box program was shut down!
Clear cutting: Siltation and warmer water temperatures (and more) are a big culprit. At least logging operations are leaving riparian zones along salmon and steelhead spawning headwaters. Some residential (just to name a few) properties and farm pastures are clear-cut right to the water's edge.

When I salmon and steelhead fished on the Oregon Coast in the 60's and 70's... The rivers raised (slower than now), but hardly ever became dirty, just high and green. Salmon, trout, and steelhead spawning beds were not smothered in silt or washed away.

River water used for irrigation: Maybe our rivers were used for irrigation just as much in the 60's, 70's and 80's but... stream run-off is not retained today. In the past, when the soil was loaded with root structure... the rain run-off was slowly released over a longer period of time.
During the summer months and early fall, the Hebo area salmon, trout, and steelhead rivers had higher flows than now. Rainfall was about the same during this time of the year as it is now.

BOTTOM LINE: OUR HATCHERIES NEED TO PLANT MORE SALMON, STEELHEAD, AND TROUT, AS THE HUMAN POPULATION CONTINUES TO GROW.

Please support Hebo area conservation and hatchery programs by getting involved.

Please don't forget about our beautiful lakes around here as well as...

...gems like East Lake in Central Oregon, where I have fly fished for big brown trout from the bank...

Clear, cold, and heavily tree-lined lakes like this... will provide years of fly-fishing memories

Your First Steps to Engaging in Hebo Hatchery and Environmental Management Programs

Find out about your local ODFW Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program (STEP).

Contact local organizations like the Nestucca, Neskowin & Sand Lake Watersheds Council that support hatchery fish propagation, while also improving our environment by...

Planting trees and other plants. Create riparian buffers along our beautiful Nestucca Valley and the surrounding Hebo area salmon, steelhead, and trout streams, like Three Rivers.
Picking up garbage.
Abandon spraying weeds and other plants and...
...Much more!

Are we leaving something out? Let us know and we'll add your thoughts to this list.

Nestucca Valley Sporting Goods and Little Nestucca Deli

31020 US 101 Hebo OR 97122

Phone: 503 392 4269